Deja Vu All Over Again

Yesterday was Julia's Birthday Party. She wanted an American Girl birthday and it took a bit of work for me to figure out exactly what that meant to her. We ended up having everyone over for pizza and then going to the park by our old house on Goshute to pick up trash. This is where the deja vu comes in. I swear I just took kids to pick up trash for a primary activity. I may start charging the city for my garbage removal services! Julia said that cleaning up America was something that should definitely be part of an American Girl party. So, while I didn't dare list that as an activity on the invitation, for fear nobody would come, they had a great time doing it. They loved seeing who could find the biggest piece or fill up their bag the most. I was impressed. After that was done, we played at the park for a few minutes and then went back for cake and ice cream.
Julia's cake was made with her mini Julie doll stuck in a cake we had baked in a bowl to look like her dress. We did the sparklers for candles again and Peter impressed all the kids by lighting them with a blow torch.
Following cake and ice cream we had our book exchange. Each girl had brought a book that we wrapped and then I read a story I had written about Julia using the words left and right as often as possible. Each time the girls heard the word right, they passed their gift to the right and each time they heard the word left, they passed it to the left. Then when the story ended, they got to open their gift and see what book they got to take home. It was fun to hear who brought which book and why they liked it. It was also a great break from the traditional gift idea where only the birthday girl ends up with something fun.
After the book swap, it was finally getting dark so we went outside to watch "Kit Kittredge" with the projector on the side of the house. The kids sat on the trampoline, the grass, and bean bags with their favorite doll or stuffed animal and a blanket. While not everyone watched the whole movie, several played and at least one fell asleep, I think they enjoyed being out with friends until 11pm.
When the movie ended I got to load up the girls and drive them home. Some lived quite far away and so it took us about an hour. When we got to a few of the homes, I saw the Dad's of the girls waiting up and I realized what a boy must feel like when he gets a girl home after curfew. Fortunately, I was smart enough to let Julia walk them to the door and then peel out as soon as I saw they were safely inside.
So you would think we are all partied out right? Surprisingly not. I was shocked at how well it went. We had girls ranging from 10 years old to barely six, girls from the ward, girls from school, one boy, and one girl that I don't think anyone else had even seen before. But they did great. They all played together. Rather than breaking off and clinging only to the girl they knew, they all mixed together and treated everyone nice. Girls get a bad reputation for leaving others out but these girls did a great job. There is hope for Relief Society yet.